The invention relates to a device for measuring an electric current flowing through a current conductor with an electric control circuit comprising a measuring component in the form of a measuring bridge of magnetoresistive measuring resistors. This type of measuring bridge is constructed as a Wheatstone bridge, to which is applied an electric bridge voltage and from which is tapped a measuring voltage for measuring the strength of a magnetic field produced by the current in the vicinity of the current conductor. The measuring voltage of the measuring bridge controls a compensating current that flows in a compensating conductor, which is selected such that the magnetic field strength of the compensative current measured by a measuring component is so that the compensating current is proportional to the current.
A measuring device for determining magnetic field strength is employed to facilitate the potential-free measurement of the current strength of the electric current, which generates the magnetic field. Since in the vicinity of a magnetic field that is measured in this manner there is already large-area interference magnetic fields, it is obvious to differentiate the interfering field with the help of magnetic field gradients between the magnetic field to be measured and the interference magnetic field.
Such a measuring device is known from the Offenlegungsschrift DE 43 00 605, also published as U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,377, in which a sensor, which is equipped with a measuring bridge of magnetoresistive laminated strips and a thin laminated microstrip that functions as a conductor for the compensating current are structurally provided. The output signal is independent from the interference field, is proportional to the current being measured and is neither temperature nor auxiliary magnetic field dependent. However, in the prior art it is necessary that the measuring device be provided with an intermediate element integral with the current conductor. Thus, the current conductor must for this purpose be cut and must be connected on both sides of the intermediate element, if one wants to avoid expressing a portion of the current conductor in order to be able to mount the measuring device. When measuring large currents a busbar alone is practical as the intermediate element, on which the measuring device has already been mounted and calibrated, in order to be able to control the influence of the geometric dimensions on the turns ratio.